The American Black Metallers FOLTERKAMMER, released their second album entitled “Weibermacht” on April 19th, 2024. This album is the follow-up to their debut album, ‘Die Lederpredigt’, released in 2020. In ‘Weibermacht’, FOLTERKAMMER fuse modern Black Metal and Classical music, resulting in an Avant-Garde sound.
The band’s frontwoman and singer, Andromeda Anarchia, showcases her dynamic vocal range, combining her training in classical opera with screams from hell, creating a chaotic and ethereal atmosphere. Regarding the latest single, “Die Unterwerfung”, Anarchia explains:
“This song embodies everything FOLTERKAMMER stands for. A fusion of classical music and raw Black Metal, historical and mythological themes, strong and cunning female characters. We like to think of ourselves as a Metal band playing Classical music, rather than a Symphonic band with an orchestral sound. We call it ‘chamber music’.”
The inspiration for “Die Unterwerfung” comes from the classical aesthetics of the Middle Ages. It is based on the well-known story of Aristotle and Phyllis, which has been transmitted to southern German-speaking regions since the Middle Ages. The story follows the beautiful and charming Phyllis, who seeks revenge by seducing, deceiving and humiliating the intellectual and role model, Aristotle, in front of an entire court. He is then ridiculed and dishonored and flees to a distant land, where he contemplates the deceitfulness of womanly cunning.
This story was written by an unknown court poet and depicts the motif of a wise and powerful man who is seduced, humiliated and dishonored by a cunning woman. There are two known German versions of this story, the Strasbourg version and the earlier Benediktbeuren version. Short excerpts from both versions have been incorporated into the song’s intro, along with an altered sequence from a popular German rhyme.
Anarchia comments on their new album ‘Weibermacht’:
“As musicians, we are also storytellers and we wanted to modernize this tale and create a Black Metal version of it, keeping this tradition alive. The term “Weibermacht” is an official artistic and cultural-historical term for this motif, and we have highlighted this female figure in our album. This motif was also prevalent in the visual arts of the late Middle Ages, with depictions found on everyday objects such as knife handles, combs, as well as sculptures and facade reliefs in various churches and cathedrals. The aesthetic of this pattern has also influenced our album cover, which was painted by the famous Eliran Kantor.”
You may listen FOLTERKAMMER’s new album “Weibermacht” HERE.
